Civil engineer Nancy Daubenberger takes over tomorrow as the new state bridge engineer at MnDOT.

The words bridge engineer carry extra weight in Minnesota following August 1, 2007. The 35W bridge collapse at 6:01 that evening re-focused the country’s attention on infrastructure.

Part of the fallout from the collapse and the death of 13 people is a ten year bridge replacement and repair program. It totals $2.5 billion. As many as 120 spans will be affected.

Daubenberger will have a key role in inspecting the state’s more than 19,000 bridges. The LeCenter native has a Master of Civil Engineering with an emphasis in Structural Engineering from the University of Minnesota, and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from North Dakota State University.

Daubenberger also becomes MnDOT’s first female state bridge engineer. Men outnumber women at MnDOT 3839 to 1066.